How I Would Have Removed Subsidy Differently – Amaechi

Former Rivers State governor and ex-Minister of Transport, Rotimi Amaechi, has said he would have handled the removal of fuel subsidy differently if he had been elected president. Speaking at a democracy conference in Abuja, he emphasised the importance of social housing and job creation as measures to cushion the impact on Nigerians.

Amaechi, who contested for the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential ticket in 2022 but lost to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, was a panellist at the event themed “Strengthening Nigeria’s Democracy: Pathway to Good Governance and Political Integrity.” The two-day conference was organised by the African Centre for Leadership, Strategy and Development (Centre LSD), the Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD), the Westminster Foundation for Democracy (WFD), the Peering Advocacy and Advancement Centre in Africa (PAACA), and the National Peace Committee (NPC).

During a session on the impact of democracy on the national economy, Amaechi acknowledged that subsidy removal was inevitable for any Nigerian president but questioned the timing and level of preparedness of Tinubu’s administration. He noted that while he would have also removed the subsidy, his approach would have prioritised social housing to mitigate the economic burden on citizens.

“There is nobody that would have become president that would not have removed the subsidy,” he said. “What I don’t know is what time was appropriate for the removal. How prepared was the Tinubu government when he announced the removal?”

Amaechi explained that instead of a sudden removal, he would have directed the funds saved from subsidy removal and naira devaluation towards building 200,000 to 300,000 housing units. He argued that such a move would not only address Nigeria’s housing deficit but also create employment opportunities across multiple sectors.

“If you build between 200,000 and 300,000 houses in the states, how many jobs have you created? At least 300,000 bricklayers, 300,000 carpenters, and 300,000 plumbers. By the time you do those things, what have you done? You have put money in the hands of the people,” he said.

The former minister also expressed concern over the widening economic gap in the country, highlighting the decline of Nigeria’s middle class. He noted that the last time the country had a functional middle class was under former President Olusegun Obasanjo, though it was often criticised as fragile.

“Now, it’s either you are rich or you are poor,” Amaechi said. “If social housing and investments in agriculture had been implemented alongside subsidy removal, people would not feel the impact as harshly as they do now.”

He stressed the need for the government to utilise the savings from subsidy removal on projects that directly improve citizens’ lives and provide economic opportunities, arguing that failure to do so would only deepen financial hardships for the majority of Nigerians.